£300m development boost for central Bristol

A major scheme to regenerate an inner city area of Bristol is being drawn up by a newly-formed consortium made up of two well-established developers.

Places for People – the UK’s largest housing and regeneration group has teamed up with Bristol based developers PG Enterprises with the aim of transforming about five acres in St Paul’s with a proposal that could attract up to £300 million worth of investment in the area.

The scheme is centred on land around Dove Lane and Newfoundland Road which the consortium wants to redevelop with a comprehensive mixture of residential, retail and employment uses, together with community facilities designed to turn it into a vibrant, living part of the city.

Proposals for the scheme include a hotel and several areas of open space and the whole development will be designed to become an exciting “gateway” to Broadmead at the city end of the M32. Broadmead is currently undergoing a £500 million expansion which will bring a wide range of new quality retail and leisure attractions.

Tom Tippetts, Places for People’s head of strategic land acquisition, said: “This represents a golden opportunity to continue redeveloping the central area of Bristol and create a viable and sustainable neighbourhood with a mix of homes and jobs for local people.

“Working in partnership with the council and local residents, we want to redevelop Dove Lane in a way that links into the wider community and helps contribute to the ongoing regeneration of the city centre.”

Ian Walker, the managing director of Redfield-based PG Enterprises, said: “We are looking to provide a development that will incorporate landmark ‘signature’ buildings that represent all that is good in modern urban design – incorporating creativity and sustainability in a manner that will provide a boost for the rejuvenation of the surrounding area.”

Father Gregory Grant, chairman of the PG Group, added: “We want to create something that is beautiful. We want people who come to Bristol to say they can’t leave without going to St Paul’s.”

The project, called onedovelane, is being co-ordinated by RPS, of Aztec West, specialists in design, planning and project management. Eight top architectural practices, both local and overseas, have expressed interest in being involved in the scheme and three will be shortlisted before the successful applicant is chosen.

Meanwhile, arrangements are being made to carry out an extensive public consultation exercise in and around St Paul’s to find out what people in the area would like to see in the redevelopment and explanatory leaflets and questionnaires are due to be circulated to 2,000 homes and businesses.

Public exhibitions to obtain people’s views are being held at the St Paul’s Learning and Family Centre at 94 Grosvenor Road from 10am to 8pm on February 23 and at Circomedia at St Paul’s Church in Portland Square from 10am to 4.30pm on February 24.

Representatives from the consortium and RPS are liaising closely with the St Paul’s Unlimited Community Partnership and will be working with various other bodies.

These include Bristol City Council, the South West Regional Development Agency, the South West Regional Assembly, the Government Office for the South West and Business West. The consortium aims to submit a planning application to the city council in December.

Places for People is the UK’s largest housing group, responsible for nearly 60,000 properties nationwide and is heavily involved in regenerating parts of the South-West including St. Paul’s to offer local people a mix of affordable housing and other social facilities. In addition, it offers a wide range of care and support services to more than 5,000 people in Bristol.

The proposed redevelopment site forms a substantial part of an area currently the subject of a study by St Paul’s Unlimited, a Bristol City Council initiative set up to ease the way for the regeneration of the district. The organisation is a partnership between residents, various agencies and businesses to address some of the area’s problems and to improve the quality of life for the people living there.